The entryway gives the first impression of a house.
The foyer is the first part of the interior of your home that most people see. It should be welcoming and neat, and as spacious as possible within its own limitations. The challenge is that many foyers are smaller than they should be, so homeowners are faced with the difficulty of designing and decorating a space that is less than ideal to begin with. Does this Spark an idea?
Paint
As with any small room, a light paint color is recommended for a foyer to make it seem larger than it is. Light cream or ivory walls will make the most of natural light from windows by reflecting it around the room. Paint the ceiling in flat white to reflect more light and increase the perceived spaciousness of the area.
Side Table
A foyer really needs a side table to put gloves, keys and incidentals on, but this can be problematic in a small and crowded space. The best solution is to find or build a very narrow and long table that will make up for its narrowness with its length. If designed properly, such a table will insinuate itself into the small foyer area without taking up too much space, while still being useful. A table with one or two small drawers is best, as the drawers can hold small objects that would otherwise clutter up the surface of the table.
Closet
Most foyers have a closet for coats, hats and other clothing. If your foyer is very small and your closet is larger than necessary, consider renovating to make the closet smaller and the foyer larger. Closets with bifold or sliding doors will be easier to use in a small foyer than closets with full-size, conventionally opening doors. If the door takes up a lot of wall space it should, like the walls, be painted in a light tone to reflect as much light as possible back into the room.
Floors
For aesthetic and practical reasons, avoid carpeting and large rugs in foyer areas. A small mat for wiping feet next to the door is useful, but larger textiles on a hallway floor will collect dirt and wear out very quickly. Consider instead a tile floor or a hardwood floor with a durable polyurethane finish. Bare floors will also contribute in a small way to a feeling of increased size.
Tags: larger than, will make, with small
